BY STUDENT
Take
a moment to compare modern-day New York City Public Housing to tenement homes
from the early 1900s. When comparing the two types of housing, it is evident that
the two are extremely similar. Fortunately, present-day housing has received
many improvements and upgrades when compared to its predecessor. Tenements located in New York City were
mostly the homes of immigrants in the early 1900th century. Small, overcrowded
and dirty, buildings would only have a limited number of bathrooms for all
residents, many who would be living with about 5 – 7 others in a single
room. With the help of muckrakers such
as Jacob Riis and his book, How The Other
Half Lives, this atrocity was exposed to many, forcing the government to
improve the slums of their city.
After
the horrid conditions of tenements were exposed, many new housing policies were
put into place to improve the housing where many immigrants, Latinos and blacks
in New York City continue to reside. Such housing policies would require landlords
to continuously renovate damages in their buildings for the tenant’s safety,
such well as the creation of New York City Public Housing (NYCHA), also known
as the “projects” and section 8. NYCHA provides affordable housing for tenants
and Section 8 is subsided housing, where the government pays a portion of rent
for the disabled or families earning below a certain amount of income.
This
cheap housing is extremely beneficial to its tenants who are mostly minorities,
such as Hispanics. Many Latinos remain and continue to move into public housing
because it is one of the few affordable housing options available in New York
City, as many of their former neighborhoods are becoming affected by gentrification.
Personally, I see public housing as way for the government to receive pardon
from minorities as they continue a hidden institutionalized segregation. Though
many races tend to concentrated in the area populated with their race, public
housing is seemingly a way to continue to marginalized a population that is already
oppressed and divided.
Though in recent decades, public housing has made many major improvements, it continues to harbor the poor and oppressed, and is now becoming a home to those who have been displaced from their beloved, cultural filled neighborhoods. With this forced gentrification, a Latino’s lost becomes a white man’s gain.
Sources
I agree with your post and with what you said about tenements homes looking much alike to how modern-day New York City. If one goes to the projects in several neighborhoods, they will see crowding and several places, exactly to how to the tenements. It is also worth noting that Latino's and blacks still do reside in projects and in section 8 housing. I do wonder tho, how would other races feel if they were living in these types of housing for years with no change in sight.
ReplyDeleteThis post is very interesting in the fact that tenement homes seem to always be around. From its start in the early 1900's its clear to see the improvements in the conditions of these tenement homes till this very day. Tenement homes were definitely created for minority races, and although it has improved it is no where near perfect as in modern day societies there are still overcrowding and other issues which need to be dealt with. This post is definitely informative and helps us to get a feel for what living in these kinds of conditions is about.
ReplyDeleteOne reason it is good to know about history is so we can compare it to modern day, and see what has changed and remained similar. With the knowledge of the history of tenements and overcrowding of New York City housing, one can notice both improvements and plateaus in regards to housing policies. I like that this post addressed that New York City Public Housing “continues to harbor the poor and oppressed,” and in many ways is segregated. Fortunately, through housing policies, conditions have gotten significantly better, but “better” still isn’t always “good.”
ReplyDeleteI like when you said, "I see public housing as way for the government to receive pardon from minorities as they continue a hidden institutionalized segregation" because it's saying that the government is providing housing for minorities and expect minorities to forget injustices that have been done by the same government. My grandparents used to live in public housing and I agree with the hidden institutionalized segregation because the government is separating minorities from everyone else. The condition of public housing is not always up to par. And I didn't know that those who become displaced from their neighborhoods come to public housing. It would make sense, because those who are pushed out can't really afford to live in other places and have to move into public housing because it's affordable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that the similarities between tenements and New York City Public housing are striking. Of course there have been improvements but those improvements are not enough. Though the government may have these affordable housing, it is important to note how they can be limited as well. Although people living in the projects would want to be able to live in a home of their own, living here is of course a better option than being put out into the streets. It is unfortunate for people that have lived in a neighborhood for so long to be forced/bribed out due to gentrification-even though I am not con gentrification. I think it is important to have people that may have at one point in their lives lived in the projects or similar situations, be represented in government and/or policy in order to make the differences we want and need to see in housing policy.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this because it resonates with what my final paper is about.I truly believe that Gentrification is used as a social weapon to marginalize minorities and the projects more than section 8 serve as a refuge for those Latinos that have been displaced. This same exact dynamic you describe is exemplified by the Brooklyn Neighborhood of DUMBO. DUMBO is a booming section of Brooklyn under the Manhattan bridge. York street on the F line. This neighborhood has been completely taken over by the gentries but exactly two blocks away are the Farragut Houses which served as homes for the Navy during the first and second world wars. These projects are slowly being surrounded by development projects who's leaders are hoping to capitalize on their close proximity to DUMBO. I find it kind of offensive how minorities are not looked as people , individuals that are part of communities, instead we are looked at as the problem.
ReplyDeleteExtremely powerful opening statement! I completely agree with your view of how Latinos are treated vs. how immigrants were treated in the early 1900s. Gentrification makes certain ethnicities uncomfortable, as if it is "weeding out" particular cultures. It's really bothersome that after all these years, not everyone is living in the same conditions because of cultural differences.
ReplyDeleteOn the outside, public housing might look like the city’s best efforts to help people in need, but I agree with you when you say that you see public housing as “ a way for the government to receive pardon from minorities as they continue a hidden institutionalized segregation.” When I think about it, most housing projects are located in groups all concentrated in one area where the poor are among the poor. The housing projects aren't scattered throughout the city so that they feel like actual apartments, but the instead might feel like a prison where they are being kept isolated from people of higher socioeconomic statuses.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. I do agree that the tenements have been used to oppress and segregate the Latinos. I do believe that they use tenements to exploit Latinos and use them to receive financial gain and to exploit them because they do need to be able to live somewhere with their families. Yes, one can argue that the tenements where these Latinos live are newer, better, and prettier than what they were exposed to, but in my personal opinion sometimes I feel like they only do that to increase the rent of the tenements or because landlords are trying to avoid lawsuits for renting inhabitable living areas to those who arguably need it the most. It's disgusting because this is a technique that the government and landlords use to segregate and oppress the minorities that reside within their community. I'm just disappointing that it takes disasters before other people stood up and speak for these people of color who were living in pure trash for homes, and yet ripped off with how much they went being charged for rent. Thankfully after the horrid exposure, i do believe it has gotten better for Latinos and people of color, but tenements I feel are still an ongoing issue especially in cities such as NYC or Detroit, but I do believe it is getting better and there is much less segregation than the decades before.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. I do agree that the tenements have been used to oppress and segregate the Latinos. I do believe that they use tenements to exploit Latinos and use them to receive financial gain and to exploit them because they do need to be able to live somewhere with their families. Yes, one can argue that the tenements where these Latinos live are newer, better, and prettier than what they were exposed to, but in my personal opinion sometimes I feel like they only do that to increase the rent of the tenements or because landlords are trying to avoid lawsuits for renting inhabitable living areas to those who arguably need it the most. It's disgusting because this is a technique that the government and landlords use to segregate and oppress the minorities that reside within their community. I'm just disappointing that it takes disasters before other people stood up and speak for these people of color who were living in pure trash for homes, and yet ripped off with how much they went being charged for rent. Thankfully after the horrid exposure, i do believe it has gotten better for Latinos and people of color, but tenements I feel are still an ongoing issue especially in cities such as NYC or Detroit, but I do believe it is getting better and there is much less segregation than the decades before.
ReplyDeleteI do not necessarily agree with you when you said "a Latino's loss is a white mans gain" because whites are not the only people who gentrify. I believe gentrification has more to do with capital than race. Because wealthy Latinos and blacks could easily become gentrifies.In saying this I will not be ignorant to the fact that discrimination does play a role in gentrification but money plays the biggest role.
ReplyDelete